Ruth Reichl has so many hats, I’m not sure which to tout first! This born and bred New Yorker wrote her first cookbook at 
21, was the restaurant critic of both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, was the Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet Magazine until its demise and is a book author (including her acclaimed, memoir Tender at the Bone.) Her first novel Delicious! goes on sale May 6. It’s about a character who leaves California for New York to start a new job at — non other than— a food magazine. (Hmm, is it a bit autobiographical?)
In addition, Ruth has been honored with many awards including six James Beard Awards (one for magazine feature writing and one for multimedia food journalism in 2009; two for restaurant criticism, in 1996 and 1998; one for journalism, in 1994; and Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America, 1984).
This busy lady did have a moment, while beginning to promote her novel, to respond to our Guest Foodie questions.
Which food product or gadget would you never give up? Lemons. They’re like instant sunshine in the kitchen. A splash of lemon juice makes everything – soups, salads, pies – taste better. A little lemon juice can turn a bowl of cream 
into ricotta cheese or panna cotta. The grated rind is the secret to so many dishes. And what’s better on a hot day than a glass of real lemonade? Just knowing there are lemons in the refrigerator makes me happy, and in deepest winter I’ve been known to pull one out of the refrigerator and simply stare at it.
What do you like to serve when you entertain? I like casual dishes that cook slowly and mostly ahead of time, so I can relax with my guests instead of running around at the last minute. At the moment I’ve been doing spice-rubbed pork shoulder wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a slow oven for four hours or so. I serve it with smoky black beans – also made ahead of time – rice and hand-made tortillas. I just put it all on big platters on the table and let people help themselves.
When people walk in there’s cheese, nuts and home-made pate to munch on while everyone pours themselves some wine. Afterwards there’s a big salad and then probably pie for dessert. Last night I pulled the last of the sour cherries I froze in the summer out of the freezer, and made them into pie.
Describe your “last meal?” A dozen clams on the half shell.
A huge heap of golden osetra caviar with warm blinis.
A great white burgundy.
A well aged Porterhouse steak, on the bone, very rare.
A baked potato.
Puntarelle salad.
Sliced Jersey tomatoes.
A great La Tache.
A few ripe cheeses with crusty bread: raw milk brie, a few shards of parmigiano, a fresh sheep’s milk cheese.
One perfectly ripe peach.
What food is your secret guilty pleasure? Fried onion rings
What is your go-to neighborhood restaurant? In New York: Pearl Oyster Bar on Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village. I love this small fish shack and I always have the same meal: a Caesar salad, some steamed clams, a boiled lobster and shoestring potatoes. I eat every bit of the tomalley and the knuckles, and take the claws home for breakfast the next morning.
In LA: Mozza Pizzeria. I love the way it feels in there – like coming home – and I sit at the counter and have one of Nancy’s salads, a plain pizza margherita and the butterscotch budino. A perfect meal.
What is one food product most people don’t know about, but should? Really good homemade bread crumbs. I save all my stale bread to make into oily crumbs and store them in the freezer. They’re great on pasta, sprinkled onto soups, used as breading or to give a salad some crunch.
Describe your worst kitchen disaster and how (if possible) you saved it: When I was living in Berkeley in the 70s my restaurant did a lot of catering. One day we had a job we just forgot about. It was a cocktail party for 70 people that started at 5.
At 3 o’clock someone suddenly remembered it.
I pulled everything out of the cupboards, called all my friends and we made an assembly line. I sent someone out for potato chips and we warmed those up and served them topped with a dab of sour cream and bottled salmon roe. We got a few wheels of cheese and put those out. I bought Pepperidge Farm white bread, spread them with good butter, filled them with watercress, cut them in quarters and piled the little watercress sandwiches onto a pretty plate. We bought packaged filo and quickly assembled some little spinach and feta triangles. We made big bowls of guacamole with chips. It wasn’t the most elegant cocktail party on earth, but everything looked lovely and no one went home hungry.
It was a good lesson to me; I’ve never made another complicated hors d’ouevre.
Who was your most influential mentor?
Marion Cunningham, who introduced me to James Beard (and just about everyone else in the food world), and taught me that it’s never too late to change your life.
Follow Ruth on Twitter: @RuthReichl
– bonnie
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